Dare
by Slow Dancing In A Burning Room
Summary: Dylan Michalchuk had never refused a dare. Then again, he'd never had a dare quite like this one. [One-shot.]


**A/N:**I know I haven't updated my other fics in forever, but I had such terrible writer's block. Finally I sat down and wrote this. It's my first Degrassi one-shot. I hope you enjoy!   
  
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**dare.**   
  
Dylan Michalchuk had never refused a dare. Then again, he'd never had a dare quite like this one.   
  
In the third grade, his best friend Brett had approached him with a rather sneaky task. Crouching below the wooden desks, he had whispered excitedly that he double-dog dared Dylan to put a frog in the substitute teacher's seat the next day. He thought about it for a seconds, then gladly accepted his mission. After all, he was Dylan Michalchuk and Dylan Michalchuk never refused a dare.   
  
So that night, Dylan hunted around in a nearby pond for nearly an hour before leaving with the fattest frog he could find. The next day he trudged to school with a frog croaking quietly in his pocket and the determination of a mischievous third grader burning in his face. While Brett distracted the unsuspecting substitute with a math problem, Dylan crawled his way over to the desk, released the frog, and hurried back to his seat.   
  
He sat like an angel, working diligently on the math workbook. He was watching her out of the corner of his eyes, which were shining with excitement. There, she was going to her desk… pulling out the chair…   
  
Dylan had never heard anybody scream as loudly as she did. Face glowing red, the teacher whirled around to face the giggling third graders and demanded to know who put the frog on her seat. Dylan was so proud of himself that he didn't even care much when five fingers from his classmates pointed at him accusingly. He even nodded, albeit modestly, when she asked if that was true.   
  
He had to stay in during outdoor recess that day and write _"I will not bring frogs to school"_ twenty times, but he knew that it was worth it.   
  
Because now, all of his classmates knew. Dylan Michalchuk never refused a dare.   
  


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In the sixth grade, it had become a game. It was Dylan's first real party, with boys _and_ girls, and no parents monitoring their every move. All of the kids were told to sit in a circle to play Truth or Dare. Inevitably, Dylan was picked first. Everyone knew he would pick dare, and he did.   
  
"I dare you to kiss Bethany on the lips," his friend Mike challenged him, and the kids all collectively gasped. His eyes widened slightly. Kissing a girl? He'd never done that before, but that didn't matter. It was a stupid dare, but an easy dare, and one he could accomplish quite easily. Smiling widely, he put his soda down on the carpet and turned to a blushing Bethany.   
  
He slowly put his hands on her shoulders, and leaned in. He hovered by her face for a few moments without moving. The suspense was killing his eager sixth-grade pals. Finally, he closed his eyes and pressed his lips to her; his first real kiss. It was strange, and it was new, and it was exciting. They finally pulled away, sixteen eyes flashing admirably towards them.   
  
Everyone began chattering at once. "Did you see that?" and "He actually did it!" were heard quite often by the enthused partygoers. He stood straight up and smirked evenly.   
  
"Piece of cake," he said coolly, not thinking about the fact that he had kissed a girl, but rather that he had proven to disbelievers what most knew was true. That Dylan Michalchuk never refused dare.   
  


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In the ninth grade, it was no longer a game. It was a serious challenge; a secret between two people. Dylan was at his girlfriend, Michelle's house. She was standing in front of him, shoulders trembling slightly and tears streaming from her eyes. Dylan wanted to stand and comfort her, to wipe the mascara trails off of her face and to hug her, but he knew he had lost that privilege.   
  
"Just tell me the truth!" she pleaded harshly, but he couldn't bring the words to his mouth. His own eyes were getting watery and he wished he_ could _tell the truth. In fact, he wanted to scream it, to lift that heavy weight off of his chest and to not worry about it anymore. But if he didn't say it, then it wasn't true. And he wanted so badly for it to not be true.   
  
When he stayed silent, she finally took a large, shaky breath. "Fine," she whispered, staring directly into his eyes. "Dylan, I dare you to tell me the truth." There it was. He almost couldn't believe she was using his weakness to get him to reveal his deepest secret. The secret he'd kept hidden and buried for so long.   
  
"Did you hear me? I dare you. _I dare you!_" she yelled, knocking a vase containing flowers he had brought for her off of a nearby desk and watching it shatter into a million pieces. "What's the matter, Dylan? What happened to Michalchuk never refuses a dare? He's the bravest guy in Canada, right? But he still can't tell his own girlfriend the truth."   
  
He found his voice and he stood up, the broken vase cracking and breaking into smaller pieces beneath his point. "Okay! You want the truth? Fine! I'm not cheating on you, Michelle!" Suddenly the air felt very thick. Michelle's hands dropped to her sides and she looked surprised, maybe even shocked.   
  
"Then what?" she whispered, her chest rising and falling in uneven paces. "Then what is it?"   
  
"The real truth," he said, in a tone that matched hers, "is that I'm…" He took a deep breath. God, why was this so hard? It was a dare. That's what he lived for. Another deep breath, and then finally it rushed out, "I'm gay."   
  
The look on her face made him wish he was no longer Dylan Michalchuk. No more did he want to be the fearless guy that everyone looked to for a good time. He wanted to go back in time and erase what his peers all knew. That Dylan Michalchuk never refused a dare.   
  


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In the twelfth grade, it was a joke. Dylan had always been close with his little sister Paige, and a trip to the beach with a few of her friends was a reoccurring event. After fighting over control of the bathroom for a few seconds, they both agreed to share it as they got ready to go.   
  
"You know," Paige said, as she applied her makeup carefully to her face, "you haven't had a boyfriend in forever." He dutifully rolled his eyes as he continued to run his toothbrush across his teeth. He didn't need her to tell him that. It'd been about seventh months since things had ended between he and his last boyfriend, and he hadn't even spoken to a gay guy since then.   
  
"I have a dare," she giggled suddenly, and he turned to her with raised eyebrows. "I dare you to say hi to the first cute boy you see today." He thought about her dare for a few seconds, as he spit the excess toothpaste into the sink. He wiped his mouth off, feeling her excited eyes on him the entire time.   
  
"Deal," he finally agreed, grinning. This dare was nothing, really. There were sure to be a surplus of good-looking guys at the beach, and saying hi to one of them was easy. They finished getting ready in silence, and then finally loaded into the family van. Dylan drove around, picking up all Paige's friends at different locations. He continued to mull the dare over in his head.   
  
"All we have to pick up now is Marco and Ellie," his little sister informed him, "then it's time to hit the beach!" They all cheered, and he grinned as he continued to drive. Finally, he saw them. Ellie, looking great in an all black outfit however inappropriate for the beach, and then… Marco.   
  
The only thing on his mind right then was Marco. He was almost breathtakingly beautiful… olive Italian skin, dark hair and eyes, and the cutest little soul patch under his chin. It was too much to take in at once. He followed the boy with his eyes as he crossed to the other side of the automobile, and opened the front seat. He heard Paige say, "Oh, Marco. Meet my brother Dylan, our chauffeur for the day."   
  
"Hey Marco," he greeted him as the younger boy settled into the seat, pulling the belt across his chest and snuggling in. Paige wouldn't know it until later, but he had accomplished her dare already. _ I dare you to say hi to the first cute boy you see today._ Well he had certainly done that, he mused as he glanced Marco over once more.   
  
If his calculations were correct, and they often wore, it was going to be an enjoyable day. Not only would he have Marco to joke with, talk to, or even just look at, but he could also confirm to his little sister - and anyone else who cared - what she already knew. That Dylan Michalchuk never refused a dare.   
  


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On the last day of freedom before his first day of college, it wasn't a game, a joke, a secret, or an accusation. It was a tease, a loyalty test. Dylan was lying on the couch at home, but he wasn't alone. On top of him was his boyfriend of almost a year, Marco del Rossi.   
  
Marco's hands were snaked around Dylan's neck, and his head was lying on his boyfriend's chest. The topic of discussion was one that brought redness to Dylan's cheek; how he was called "Daring Dylan" as a child and that Marco had heard how fearless he was thought of as.   
  
"Never," the older blonde boasted, an ounce of pride evident in his deep blue eyes. "I have never refused a dare." Marco chuckled, and Dylan could feel his warm breath against his neck. This was some form of ecstasy, and it was a feeling that he didn't want to ever leave.   
  
"Okay then, Daring Dylan," Marco teased, running a hand through his blonde curls. "I've got a dare for you." Dylan's head lifted off of the couch and he stared down at his boyfriend, ready to hear what his next challenge was. He could take anything, and he'd most definitely proved that in the past.   
  
Marco shifted his body until his mouth was right next to Dylan's right ear. "I dare you," he whispered, his dark hair falling down and tickling Dylan's cheekbone, all the while smiling. "I dare you to not fall in love with me."   
  
It was true, what they had said. Dylan Michalchuk had never refused a dare. But then again, he'd never had a dare quite like this one. And as he looked up to his beaming boyfriend, he shook his head.   
  
Because both boys knew that this was a dare that he would definitely refuse. 


End file.
